Nearly all scientists accept methodological naturalism, the idea that science should look for natural explanations only and not consider supernatural explanations. Why? Because only natural explanations lend themselves to scientific methodology. A supernatural explanation, even if true, would be a scientific dead-end.

But does this, in itself, imply the actual nonexistence of any and all supernatural entities? On that question, scientists disagree, as also do philosophers. In any case, methodological naturalism (also known as epistemological naturalism) is distinct from metaphysical naturalism, the belief that the natural world is all that exists.

Below are some articles on methodological naturalism and why it is needed in science, even if metaphysical naturalism is not true: